Two of L.A.'s best bars were just named among the best in North America

Time Out

30-04-2025

For the second year in a row, Mírate in Los Feliz and Thunderbolt in Historic Filipinotown have made this year's list of North America's 50 Best Bars, which dropped late last night. Veteran L.A. drinkers likely won't find this surprising given the strength of Mike Capoferri's precise, delicious and sustainably made cocktails at Thunderbolt and Max Reis's stellar bar program at Mírate, which incorporates pre-Hispanic indigenous fermented beverages and showcases rare agave spirits from smaller producers you can't find anywhere else in the United States.
This year, however, Mírate has jumped significantly in the ranking, coming in at 12th across the continent after debuting on last year's list at number 46. The World's 50 Best Restaurants organization, which also decides the annual North America's 50 Best Bars list, also awarded Mírate the Nikka Highest Climber Award and named the Los Feliz restaurant and bar the 'Best Bar in the West.'
Conversely, Thunderbolt has fallen out of its top 10 ranking at number 8 to number 24—but don't worry, we still love you Thunderbolt. The organizations touts the bar's open patio and 'bright and breezy' feel, but also shouts out the drinks program as 'boundary-pushing' in a way that weaves community, philanthropy and sustainability. As such, the Historic Filipinotown bar also earned the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2025.
In the last year, both Capoferri and Reis have been busy working on other new concepts around town. Last December, Capoferri opened Night on Earth, a futuristic cyberpunk-themed cocktail bar in the Cahuenga Pass. The Valley bar easily nabbed the top spot on our best new bars list for its flavorful riffs on classics, including a clarified take on a porn star martini and an old-fashioned laced with the unmistakeable, nostalgic flavor of movie theater butter.
Earlier this month, Reis and the rest of the team behind Mírate opened Daisy Margarita Bar, a restaurant in Sherman Oaks that offers clever twists on the crowd-pleasing tequila-based drink. Soon, Reis will debut another concept on the second floor of the Daisy space. Known as the Gilbert Perez Bar, the rum-focused tropical cocktail experience draws inspiration from the folk legend of Gil Perez, a 16th-century Spanish soldier who was mysteriously transported from Manila to Mexico City.
Mírate and Thunderbolt weren't the only L.A. bars to get recognition from the World's 50 Best Restaurants organization. Two weeks ago, West Hollywood's Bar Next Door also nabbed a spot on the full North America list, which extended the ranking to the continent's top 100.